Old Center Point Road

NASHVILLE—I walked two miles on Old Center Point Road this morning in 32:42.

Old Center Point Road/York Gary Loop

NASHVILLE—I walked two miles on Old Center Point Road this morning in 29:22, and felt good. I was tempted to jog.

Starting at about 7:30 this evening, I walked and jogged the York Gary Loop in 25:09, in time to watch History Detectives with my mom.

Orange Street Loop/York Gary Loop

I jogged the Orange Street Loop this morning in 32:29, with splits of 11:18, 10:47, and 10:24. I pushed a little harder than I did on Thursday night, but was surprised by my time. I hoped it would be under thirty-four minutes before I looked at my watch.

This evening in Nashville, starting at about eight o'clock, I walked and jogged the York Gary Loop in 26:33.

Maple Street Loop/Hash

I walked the Maple Street Loop this morning in 33:10.

I walked and jogged for a little over thirty minutes to cover a little over two miles with the Hash from the Little Rock side of the Arkansas River near the I-430 bridge. We crossed into Two Rivers Park on the new pedestrian bridge. I learned during the post-run festivities that North Little Rock Parks and Recreation indeed plans to pave the railroad trail through Levy and Indian Hills, from The Forge to Camp Robinson, for walkers, joggers, and bikers.

Levy Loop/River Trail

You know, I'm a little embarrassed to write that my legs are still a tiny bit sore from jogging at a roughly twelve-minute-a-mile pace two days ago. Oh well. This morning I walked the Levy Loop in 32:37.

This afternoon, starting at about five o'clock, I walked twice across the Big Dam Bridge, with a two-mile walk on the River Trail tucked in between— for a total 5.2 miles—in 1:24:10.

OVERHEARD
"The last time I got a flu shot, I got the flu, so why would I want to get another flu shot?"
—fat biker to another fat biker on the River Trail

"Who made this water? Where did all this water come from?"
—five-year-old boy to his mother as they walked their dog across the Big Dam Bridge

38th Street Loop

I walked the 38th Street Loop this morning in 31:31.

York Gary Loop/Orange Street Loop

NASHVILLE—I walked the York Gary Loop this morning in 31:09.

I jogged the Orange Street Loop this evening in 35:50, with splits of 12:02, 11:57, and 11:51. I was somewhat comfortable throughout. This was to this point, I believe, my longest non-stop run of 2011.

Orange Street Loop

I walked the Orange Street Loop this morning in 47:36.

Levy Loop/First Tee

I walked the Levy Loop this morning in 33:15, ate a bowl of cereal, studied a bit for the DFL draft, picked my BTS motherfucker, and then teed off at First Tee at 9:14 a.m. I scored a 49, with 3 pars, 2 bogies, 2 doubles, and, on the last two holes, in order, 1 triple and 1 quadruple. I used 13 putts. I literally could not have been wetter as I walked back to my car.

Levy Railway Bed

I uncovered proof this morning that the U.S. Government has moved the Roswell aliens to Camp Robinson in North Little Rock, Arkansas. First, they've constructed buildings several miles north of the post to look exactly like the Jacksonville community center complex, obviously to confuse Google Earth users. Next, they've given the former railroad bed that runs across the post a visual effect which makes people feel as if they're going uphill no matter the direction they're headed, designed to keep almost everyone from wanting to walk or run on it. They, of course, dug up the tracks in the first place to secure the post from renegade train engineers. All of this explains why they used the farfetched excuse of planes crashing into buildings in New York to tell people they can't go to a tiny Army camp in the middle of fucking nowhere. What could possibly be going on there that requires such tight security? I mean, other than someone hiding the aliens? I walked and jogged from my house uphill for 37:19 to the concrete barrier across Mount Road at the edge of Camp Robinson, then uphill back to my house to complete the trek in 1:11:42. I'm confident I went at least five miles.

Levy Loop/Levi Ghetto Cat Loop

It rained from about eleven last night until eight o'clock this morning, so I skipped the railroad hike. Instead, I walked and jogged the Levy Loop in 26:17. My legs felt a little springy. Perhaps I'll be able to run soon, if my current momentum endures. The only thing that bothered me was my left thumb, which I strained trying to open a jar of blue cheese salad dressing last night. If I can get Files to return my calls, the Marzetti people are going down. It'll be Pete's Blue Chesse. I'll put the factory right next to Pete's Clean Dog Emporium®.

My goal late this afternoon was to walk the Levi Ghetto Cat Loop slowly enough that I wouldn't have to hang my shirt on the shower rod after I came in. It was impossible. I finished in 33:40, and am now on the couch with a towel between my back and the cushion. Man, it's humid out.

38th Street Loop/Tracks

I jogged a little bit, maybe four or five minutes total, but mostly walked the 38th Street Loop this morning in 27:03. I stopped for a couple of minutes to walk on the old Levy railroad bed, which is now the equivalent of a hard-packed, one-lane gravel road. It could be walked or jogged on as it is.

I walked for 32:40 out and back, starting north, on the old railroad bed. Just after 47th Street it broadens to the width of a city street, which I guess it might become. Who knows? I hope it doesn't. Heck, it would be fine with me if they left it like it is. For one thing, it makes a great trail for all the poor people in those thousands of apartments around where John Kelly lived years ago. In fact, I saw a guy out there today. He told me he was walking to Kroger, and seemed as pumped as I am by the new route. I had just gotten into a shady area when I had to turn back, so that I could watch Na Yeon Choi dominate this Safeway Classic. I hope I can get up early enough to go two or three miles out on it tomorrow, before it gets hot. Three miles should be enough to get me past the Indian Hills Kroger.

Big Dam Bridge/Chandler Street Loop

I did two laps of the Big Dam Bridge this morning in 50:26. I stopped my watch about halfway back on the first lap to talk to a woman named Erin Taylor. We met walking opposite directions, and she stopped to say, "I know you. Is your name Pete?" Erin was a junior on the Arkansas women's track team in Fayetteville when I spent the spring of 1983 there as a graduate assistant coach. Today she took forty-five minutes telling me about her last two jobs, her husband's job, her four children, and where all those girls from twenty-eight years ago are today. Twenty minutes into our conversation I told her I had another lap to go and suggested she walk with me to the north end of the bridge and then back to the Little Rock side where her car was parked, but she said, no, she had to hurry off somewhere, which she did, twenty-five minutes later. There's at least a chance I'll have grounds for a lawsuit if my sunburn turns to cancer.

I just turned on the Golf Channel to see Stacy Lewis walking down a fairway and sticking a banana in her mouth. That's why I have cable. I left my house at about a quarter to five and walked the Chandler Street Loop in 48:22. It was borderline cool earlier in the week, but is 93°F with a Realfeel® of 108 as I write. I would've waited until it got dark, but I saw on the Internet that Na Yeon was kicking butt in the Safeway Classic, and the tape-delayed broadcast started at 5:30, plus there's a preseason football game that starts at seven.

Levy Loop Classic

I walked Levy Loop Classic this morning in 32:39.

I played First Tee today from the middles in 45, with 1 par, 7 bogies, and 1 double. I used 19 putts.

Chandler Street Loop

I walked the Chandler Street Loop this morning in 48:21. I got in just before it started raining.

This evening I jogged for about forty-seven seconds of the 55:33 I was out with the Humping Hash. We started and finished at the White Water Tavern, not far from Pizza d'Action. I guess I covered three and a half miles or so.

Do you remember the railroad tracks that ran between my house and Taco Bell? They ran from right around The Forge to I'm not sure how far away. Miles I guess. Surely. ...well, fuck, let me see if I can Google Earth them. ...OK, I gave up when I got to Jacksonville, where they have long since been pulled up. In fact, there are buildings there built across their old path. Anyway, someone started pulling them up through Levy last fall (by the way, I'm not sure how long it's been since trains used them, but not since at least Feb. 3, 1987, the day before I moved to Levy). I noticed this morning as I walked the Chandler Street Loop that they're beginning to pull them out of the streets and repave where they were. Also, someone's started leveling the dirt and gravel that accompanied them. They look like they'd make a perfect trail. From here they go right past the North Little Rock YMCA. You know the one I'm talking about, between my house and where ya'll lived? I'm probably daydreaming, but, man, it would be wonderful if they paved them for joggers and bikers. Maybe I should call Mayor Hayes.

OVERHEARD
"He impressed me. He was disciplined; he was compoised."
—ESPN football analyst Merle Hodge, on Cleveland Browns quarterback Colt McCoy

Levy Loop/First Tee

I walked the Levy Loop in 31:50 this morning. This afternoon I played First Tee from the middles with Jeff and Jill Krupsaw in 49, with 1 par, 5 bogies, 2 doubles, and 1 quadruple. I used 17 putts. I played the first four holes in nine-over, and the last five in four-over.

Orange Street Loop/Sweetheart Loop

I walked the Orange Street Loop this morning in 47:14, and remain saddened by Dufner's collapse.

Tonight, starting at about nine o'clock, I walked the Sweetheart Loop in 48:24.

Levi Ghetto Cat Loop

I walked the Levi Ghetto Cat Loop this morning in 30:38.

I'm for Scott Verplank to win the PGA Championship. He's two strokes back. I have been a bit of a Verplank fan ever since he won a PGA event as an amateur, when he played for Oklahoma State, in I think 1985. Maybe '86. I know I watched him win it when I lived in Fayetteville. He rarely contends in these things, but I have particularly cheered for him from the day I learned he was an insulin-dependent diabetic. I like that he never mentions it, that it's such a non-factor the television guys don't either. And then, next, I'm for the co-leader Jason Dufner. Have you seen that motherfucker? I'm telling you, he's no more than twenty-five years away from being a regular at the Honey Hut. He looks like a professional bowler.

York Gary Loop/Old Center Point Road/Levy Loop Classic

I walked the York Gary Loop on Thursday night in a little under thirty minutes, and walked and jogged four miles on Old Center Point Road in 55:25, starting at about 6 a.m. Friday. I walked Levy Loop Classic in 30:54 this morning.

First Tee/Levi Ghetto Cat Loop

I'm back to sucking at golf. I played First Tee this afternoon with Jeff Krupsaw and scored a 52 from the middles, with 4 bogies, 4 doubles, and 1 quadruple. I used 17 putts. I expect to be back to not sucking soon, as soon as we get a stretch where it's not over 100°F. Twenty minutes after I returned home, I walked the Levi Ghetto Cat Loop in 31:12.

OVERHEARD
"I suck, both figuratively and literally."
—Jeff Krupsaw, after hitting a terrible shot. Kimmy was with us. I said, "No. Jeff. You only suck figuratively, unless. ...well, no, I can't imagine that possibility."

35th Street Loop

I walked the 35th Street Loop tonight in 1:01:33.

Camp Clearfork/Orange Street Loop

Yesterday, starting at about noon, I walked for nearly an hour to cover a little over three miles around Camp Clearfork. This evening I walked and jogged the Orange Street Loop in 40:40.

Levi Ghetto Cat Loop

Goddamn, man, it got to 108°F today. It's 102 now. I walked the Levi Ghetto Cat Loop in 34:10.

38th Street Loop

Eight-one degrees feels great. I walked the 38th Street Loop this morning in 32:37.

Sweetheart Loop

It was 96°F when I walked the Sweetheart Loop in 46:40 late this afternoon, eighteen degrees cooler than yesterday. I wore mittens.

Levi Ghetto Cat Loop/Levy Loop

It's 10:52 a.m., and 96°F, with a heat index of 108, just like the last two mornings. I walked the Levi Ghetto Cat Loop in 31:13, and I'm drenched. Shit, I hate it when it's too hot to golf. We tied a record for the date yesterday when it reached 107, which is the predicted high for today.

I remember the day in late August, 2000, when it reached 111°F and the National Weather Bureau in North Little Rock was the hottest reporting station on earth, and Elaine Gimblet bragged that she and Ron and their gang jogged around the Lakewood lakes. Today, at 2:40 p.m., it was 114, so, just to say I exercised through the hottest day in the recorded history of North Little Rock, regardless of date, I walked the Levy Loop in 33:21. Now, at 4:14, it's a relatively pleasant 111. It's clouded up a bit. The former record was set in late August of 1986, when it reached 112. I remember that summer, too, walking home from Dickson Street one evening in Fayetteville through pouring rain with a girl named Jennifer Hudson. Everyone out that night was delighted to be soaked through to their underwear.

Chandler Street Loop

At 5:58 p.m., it's 103°F with a RealFeel® of goddamn 116. I think our high today was 104. They say it'll get to 106 tomorrow. I walked the Chander Street Loop this evening in 48:31.

Levy Loop

I've made a point this summer to not complain about the weather, but fuck it. At 10:40 a.m., it's 96°F with a RealFeel® of 108. I wonder how many people will die next weekend at Camp Clearfork. I somehow survived a 31:40 walk of the Levy Loop this morning.